Whether you're thrilled about Hard Knocks or not, it's coming. Nothing you can do about it. But if you're still not convinced it's a good idea, take solace, the Falcons will apparently have complete editorial control. Per the Falcons' Reid Ferrin, Mike Smith will preview every episode before it airs.
"Coach Smith will be able to view the show on Tuesday mornings, before it airs, for competitive balance reasons," said Ken Rogers. "We certainly, at NFL Films, are very cognizant of not tipping competitive balance, one way or the other. Sometimes, there are phrases used that we’re not aware are a part of the play-call structure. So, coach will be watching the show to make sure that we don’t overstep our bounds and give away anything that could hurt his team, because that’s the last thing that we want to do."
I think we all knew this was true, but it's nice to get some confirmation. It'd be truly unfortunate if the Falcons' participation hindered them on the field. Of course there's still the distraction associated with a 30 man film crew, but these guys are used to cameras. Maybe not at this level, but they've dealt with in-your-face media before. And knowing Smitty has the ability to nix portions of what they film can't help but reassure the players.
Your thoughts?